Gary Richrath a guitarist and songwriter for REO Speedwagon and the man behind some of their best known songs has passed away. I am paying tribute to him today by featuring an REO Song in my battle of the bands contest.
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Please check out the other battles:
The list of Battle of the Bands participants..
I snagged it from STMcC Presents 'Battle of the Bands':
@ ‘FAR AWAY SERIES’ by clicking HERE.
@ ‘TOSSING IT OUT’ by clicking HERE.
@ ‘YOUR DAILY DOSE’ by clicking HERE.
@ 'BOOK LOVER' by clicking HERE.
@ 'CURIOUS AS A CATHY' by clicking HERE.
@ 'THE SOUND OF ONE HAND TYPING' by clicking HERE.
@ 'DCRELIEF - BATTLE OF THE BANDS' by clicking HERE.
@ 'THIS BELLE ROCKS' by clicking HERE.
@ 'THE DOGLADY'S DEN' by clicking HERE.
@ 'CHERDO ON THE FLIPSIDE' by clicking HERE.
@ 'ANGELS BARK' by clicking HERE.
@ 'JINGLE JANGLE JUNGLE' by clicking HERE.
@ 'WOMEN: WE SHALL OVERCOME' by clicking HERE.
@ 'J.A. SCOTT' by clicking HERE.
@ 'NOVELBREWS' by clicking HERE.
@ 'HOLLI'S HOOTS AND HOLLERS' by clicking HERE.
@ 'QUIET LAUGHTER' by clicking HERE.
Some great stuff linked above! Anyway I pit two versions of the songs together and you vote by your comments. I will be back six days later with the winner on September 21.
The source and not in the contest..
REO Speedwagon and "Keep on Loving You"
Below are the ones you are voting on.
Lisa Loeb with Dweezil Zappa..
Contestant two Keith Urban...
I know you all hate live versions for this contest, but he at least they are short, So who are you going to vote for the extremely popular country star in Keith Urban or the alt pairing of Lisa Loeb and Dweezil Zappa?
Enjoy and I will be back next month for another Battle of the Bands!
Please check out the other battles:
The list of Battle of the Bands participants..
I snagged it from STMcC Presents 'Battle of the Bands':
@ ‘FAR AWAY SERIES’ by clicking HERE.
@ ‘TOSSING IT OUT’ by clicking HERE.
@ ‘YOUR DAILY DOSE’ by clicking HERE.
@ 'BOOK LOVER' by clicking HERE.
@ 'CURIOUS AS A CATHY' by clicking HERE.
@ 'THE SOUND OF ONE HAND TYPING' by clicking HERE.
@ 'DCRELIEF - BATTLE OF THE BANDS' by clicking HERE.
@ 'THIS BELLE ROCKS' by clicking HERE.
@ 'THE DOGLADY'S DEN' by clicking HERE.
@ 'CHERDO ON THE FLIPSIDE' by clicking HERE.
@ 'ANGELS BARK' by clicking HERE.
@ 'JINGLE JANGLE JUNGLE' by clicking HERE.
@ 'WOMEN: WE SHALL OVERCOME' by clicking HERE.
@ 'J.A. SCOTT' by clicking HERE.
@ 'NOVELBREWS' by clicking HERE.
@ 'HOLLI'S HOOTS AND HOLLERS' by clicking HERE.
@ 'QUIET LAUGHTER' by clicking HERE.
Some great stuff linked above! Anyway I pit two versions of the songs together and you vote by your comments. I will be back six days later with the winner on September 21.
The source and not in the contest..
REO Speedwagon and "Keep on Loving You"
Below are the ones you are voting on.
Lisa Loeb with Dweezil Zappa..
Contestant two Keith Urban...
I know you all hate live versions for this contest, but he at least they are short, So who are you going to vote for the extremely popular country star in Keith Urban or the alt pairing of Lisa Loeb and Dweezil Zappa?
Enjoy and I will be back next month for another Battle of the Bands!
13 comments:
I thought Lisa Loeb's vocals were a bit thin, but Dweezil's guitar solo was good. That said, Keith Urban's version was more pleasing to my ears, so he gets my vote.
MIKE ~
In the early 1980s, my friends and I used to mock those "formulaic" Arena Rock Acts by referring to all of them as "REO-JOURNEY-STYX-WAGON".
But truthfully - while I dislike Styx and Journey - I DO like REO Speedwagon. Richrath had a cool guitar tone, I liked the singer's voice, and they recorded some very catchy songs. My favorite of their albums was always 'HI InFIdelity', which included "KEEP ON LOVING YOU". I still find myself humming or whistling that melody frequently, out of the clear blue.
In this Battle, I gotta go with KEITH URBAN. The first one was... well, like Debbie said: "THIN". I can't think of a better word to describe it.
~ D-FensDogG
'Loyal American Underground'
I'm having a hard time here. I like the original version by Speedwagon. Lisa and Dweezil sounded - thin - amatureish - I dunno, it was just kind of boring.
Keith on the other hand let the audience in a little too much. I'm sure it was great fun if you were there in person, but it really took away from the song as a recorded version. So, what to do? what to do? I guess I'll give it to Keith for trying and letting his audience have a good time, even if I didn't; as opposed to thin and amatureish.
I think Keith Urban is a very talented artist and he adds a nice touch to this song. Lisa Loeb's version is not bad, but it sounds too much like folks just singing around the campfire.
Musically there is more happening in the Keith Urban version. That's where my vote goes.
Arlee Bird
A to Z Challenge Co-host
Tossing It Out
Mike,
The original is still my favorite. Lisa has a sweet voice but needs more time to develop. Urban is okay, and even though I think his band might have added a bit more, my vote will go with him. Yep, such is live performance. Thanks, Mike.
Nice tribute (smile).
DC
This is one of my favorite REO songs. I've been known to karaoke it more than once. Honestly, I think I can sing this song better than Lisa Loeb. Yikes. She sounded so bored that I feared she'd fall dead asleep in the middle of it. The guitar solo didn't do enough to save it.
Keith Urban... I could go on and on and on and on about Keith Urban. I discovered him during a very bad time in my life. It was just after my divorce. My migraines were really bad. I spent nearly a year doing very little more than lying in bed for weeks at a time. I quit watching everything on TV. I simply couldn't commit to even a half hour program. I tuned my TV to the country video music station and would watch that when I felt like I could be vertical for a few minutes. Anyway, I learned to appreciate Keith Urban during this time... easy on the eyes and a very nice voice.
So, even though we all know that this isn't the best Keith Urban could do with this song, he gets my vote. I was into the watching of it. The audience enjoyed it. As a side note: I wouldn't be surprised if this performance was completely impromptu and not even on the set list. I love the fact that he plays guitar and piano and who knows what else. I really like the guy.
Another vote for Keith. Lisa's version is good. Mr. Zappa's guitar solo is brilliant. But... Keith gave the song more "meat", sort of. Maybe it was the audience participation, maybe it was a male voice covering a male-voice original, maybe it was Lisa's style not matching the expectations for REO's original... Not sure. But I vote for Keith :)
Great battle, Mike!
Guilie @ Quiet Laughter
I kinda liked Lisa Loeb's version. Her voice isn't so pleasant, but I like the guitar work. Keith's isn't really that different than REO's. Lisa gets my vote.
I like the guitar solo in the the first but her voice is something one hears around a campfire-very nice but nothing magical. I am not a Keith Urban fan but it does feel more professional if that makes sense so Keith gets my vote. Zappa gets the vote for guitar though:)
It's not so much live versions I don't like. Because I do. I think it's when a live version of a song is paired with a studio version of a song.
In this case, they were essentially both live versions.
Please give my vote to Keith Urban. I think this song works best with a male vocalist.
He did the song well, despite cutting to the crowd. I hope that doesn't impair him in the end with other voters.
I prefer the original. Oh, I have to choose? Dang.
Ok, I'm glad both of these are live. I didn't realize Keith Urban could play the piano haha.. I don't much like the guy, but the cover is OK. His voice sounds better than Lisa's at least. I gotta give her credit for trying though. I mean, it does sound campfire-y like Birgit mentioned. I do like the guitar solo from Zappa though.
Hm.
REO Speedwagon.
No, dang! Sorry! I think I'm going to give my vote to Keith Urban. Strictly on singing alone.
- Madilyn Quinn @ NovelBrews
Hey, Mike! Gr8 REO Speedwagon classic! Lisa's voice is a bit weak and almost nasal sounding to please my taste. Keith is a seasoned vocalist who is actually rather good, plus it looks like he actually washed his hair (normally it looks matted down or dirty) and that's why I'm voting for Keith Urban in this showdown.
Dude, no contest, Keith Urban.
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